Ranked: Where is the casino need economically greatest?

Sunday

Jul 6, 2014 at 2:00 AMJul 6, 2014 at 9:10 AM

Which proposed casino sites are in the most need of casinos, considering median income and poverty levels?

1 & 2 - Two resorts are proposed on different parts of the former Concord Hotel site in Thompson: Adelaar/Montreign Resort Casino, by Empire Resorts and EPR Properties; and Mohegan Sun at the Concord, by Concord Kiamesha LLC and Mohegan Gaming NY. Located in the poorest town in the poorest (but least populated) of the three Hudson Valley/Catskills counties vying for a casino. Nearby Monticello has a median household income of $22,897, lower than any other municipality in the region; about 34 percent of the village's 6,725 residents live below the federal poverty level.

3 - Nevele Resort, Casino & Spa, Warwarsing. The host town for this $640 million proposal by Nevele Investors has a median household income of $44,509, and neighboring Fallsburg's is slightly lower at $43,600, making them two of the region's lowest-earning towns.

4 - Resorts World Hudson Valley, Montgomery. This $830 million project, one of two Genting Americas has proposed in Orange County, is about seven miles west of the City of Newburgh, the region's biggest and poorest city. About 28 percent of the city's estimated 28,480 residents fall below the poverty line; median household income there is $36,077. Median incomes are about twice as high in host Montgomery and the neighboring towns of Newburgh and New Windsor.

5 - Hudson Valley Casino & Resort, Town of Newburgh. Saratoga Casino and Raceway, planning a $670 million resort outside the City of Newburgh with Rush Street Gaming, has trumpeted local poverty statistics in its press releases, pointing out in one that more than 18,000 students within a 20-mile radius are classified by the state as "economically disadvantaged." That radius takes in the cities of Poughkeepsie, Beacon and Middletown, as well as Newburgh.

6 - Grand Hudson Resort &Casino, New Windsor. The Greenetrack project at Stewart Airport is one of three proposals outside the City of Newburgh that can boast of offering abundant job opportunities to the city's poor and unemployed residents.

7- Live! Hotel &Casino New York, South Blooming Grove. The $750 million project pitched by the Cordish Cos. and Penn National Gaming would be built in a relatively prosperous town — Blooming Grove, median household income of $87,335 — but on the outskirts of one of the region's poorest communities: Kiryas Joel ($23,336). The only catch, from a poverty-fighting standpoint, is that casino jobs are no help to the Hasidic community, whose residents would shun them for religious and cultural reasons. Indeed, Kiryas Joel's leaders have formally opposed casino plans in Blooming Grove and Woodbury.

8 - Caesars New York, Woodbury. The $880 million resort by Caesars Entertainment happens to be located in the wealthiest town in the region, with a median household income of $112,708. Aside from Kiryas Joel, the pockets of poverty nearest the site are in the City of Newburgh, about 15 miles to the north, and Middletown, 20 miles to the west.

9 - Sterling Forest Resort, Tuxedo. Like the Caesars project to the north, Genting Americas' initial proposal in Orange County is located in a relatively affluent town (median household income, $85,909) and is about a 30-minute drive from Spring Valley in neighboring Rockland County, which has the nearest concentration of poverty.